AZUSA, Calif. – In their final regular-season meet of 2026, Azusa Pacific put on a game face, but could not overcome several early mistakes in a 256.15-243.11 loss to Hawai'i Pacific Wednesday night inside the Felix Event Center. The match closes the NCATA era of the sport for the Cougars, as the NCAA will recognize acrobatics and tumbling as a championship sport of its own starting in the 2027 season.
The evening was not without its highlights for the home team. The Cougars put together compulsory heats of 9.70 in the pyramid and 9.65 in the toss. The 7-element acro squad of Addison Day-Esson, Abigail Cortez, Emily Sheneman, Erin Schmitt, and Josie Purcell put up a 9.70, tying the mark put up by the visiting Sharks (4-2). And the open pyramid heat earned a 9.80, one of their highest marks of the season. But errors earlier in both events enabled the Sharks to open up an advantage of nearly six points in the first half.
The Cougars (2-4) found themselves forced to improvise a bit in the second half due to an apparent injury, but still were able to win one toss heat and three tumbling heats, with Cortez providing the biggest score with a 9.65 in the 6-element pass while she and fellow senior Jenna Moisio earned a win in the duo pass. Gabby Fendrich was flying all over the mat in the team event, covering multiple elements that would have been missed due to the aforementioned injury, helping the Cougars salvage a 75.91 in the team event, but Hawai'i Pacific's lead was too much to overcome.
As the night came to a close, the Cougars honored their six seniors (Cortez, Fendrich, Moisio, Purcell, Schmitt, and Sheneman) for the legacy they have helped build both as students and athletes. As both the team and the sport transition into a new era in 2027, they will leave some big shoes to fill.
Up Next: The Cougars will be hosting the 2026 NCATA National Championships from April 23-26. While the Cougars are unlikely to be chosen as one of the eight teams competing for the team title, there are likely a few slots in the event finals that they can claim based on their performance throughout the regular season. The at-large qualifiers will be announced via www.thencata.org next week, along with the team brackets.
